Borrowing on mainnet is now live!

Today, in addition to sharing news of our recent seed raise, we’re also excited to announce that borrowing on Atomic Loans is now live on mainnet! Now, for the first time, Bitcoiners across the globe are able take out a loan against their Bitcoin, and perform the entire process in a non-custodial manner. This also marks the first time that anyone can engage in decentralized finance using bitcoin on the native Bitcoin chain.

Head over to atomic.loans/app to get started on your first non-custodial Bitcoin-backed loan!

What can I do with v1?

While this is exciting and constitutes a big step forward, this is not the end product. Namely, the lending side of the protocol is not yet public (sign up here if you’re interested in lending!), and a Ledger hardware wallet is needed in order execute the Bitcoin transactions on the interface.

That being said, if you have a Ledger hardware wallet with some Bitcoin, you can get started today on taking out your first non-custodial Bitcoin-backed loan by:

Selecting stablecoin to borrow. Currently, this can be one of USDC or DAI. There is a minimum loan size of $25.

Setting your loan terms. This includes setting the amount of stablecoin you would like to borrow, and the amount of Bitcoin you would like to collateralize. Since this is a fixed term loan, you also set a loan length. You must maintain a minimum collateralization ratio of 140% (maximum LTV of ~71.4%) throughout the duration of the loan.

Depositing your collateral. This is done by using your Ledger to send Bitcoin to a pair of Bitcoin scripts which essentially act as decentralized escrows for your Bitcoin throughout the duration of your loan. (For the Bitcoin techies out there, these are P2SH’s that closely resemble hashed timelock contracts used in atomic swap.)

Repay at any point before the expiration of your loan period to retrieve your Bitcoin collateral.

Repay part of your loan (in stablecoin) to increase your collateralization ratio. This is useful in the event where Bitcoin’s price falls and you need to maintain your minimum collateralization ratio.

For a deeper dive into the technicals of how the loan process works, check out our System Overview.

What do I need to start borrowing?

Ledger hardware wallet (Nano S or Nano X) with some Bitcoin to collateralize.

Currently, a Ledger Nano S hardware wallet is required to borrow with Atomic Loans and execute the Bitcoin transactions.

Before using your Ledger with Atomic Loans, please ensure:

You have the latest version of Ledger Live installed.

You’ve updated to the latest version of firmware on your Ledger itself.

2. Metamask extension with some Ether for gas.

What’s next?

We’re committed to continually iterating the protocol and interface make Atomic Loans the most accessible way to get a Bitcoin-backed loan. To that end, these are some of the to-do items we have in the short term (feel free to reach out if you think there are any we’re currently missing!):

SPV proofs to allow for adding of BTC collateral mid-loan and streamlining of process to request new loan

Ability for borrowers to repay early without penalty. Currently, you are still liable for the full amount of interest corresponding to the complete loan duration even if you repay early.

Pooling of lender funds. Currently, borrowers are limited to borrowing from the capital deployed by one lender, rather than a pool of capital aggregated across many lenders.

How can I report bugs, or offer feedback?

Like any early stage startup, the most useful thing you can provide us with is your feedback! Feedback helps us improve and build a product that better suits your needs. There are a few ways you can offer feedback:

Message us on Crisp using the purple chatbox button on the bottom right of our app!

Leave your email in the Hotjar pop-up so we can reach out to you later for feedback.